SINGAPORE: Residents in many parts of Singapore - from the north-eastern areas to the west - have complained of a strong burning smell that started on Monday afternoon (Sep 25), prompting an investigation by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and National Environment Agency (NEA).

As of 11pm, there is still no word on the source of the smell but the SCDF said in a tweet that no toxic industrial chemicals were detected in the air.

"SCDF (is) monitoring (the) situation closely," it tweeted. "There's been no confirmed incident," it said in an earlier Facebook post.

NEA said that air quality levels "were found to be well within safety limits" in the Sengkang and Punggol areas despite the strong smell.

Convergence of winds over the northern half of Singapore might have led to the "accumulation of smells" there, it said.
"Winds are expected to turn to blow from the south or south-east later tonight, which will help to disperse any smells in the area," NEA said, adding that it will continue to monitor the situation.

Residents in Sengkang, Hougang and Buangkok were among the first to report a strong smell from as early as 4.30pm, before similar complaints came in from people living in Bishan and Ang Mo Kio. They described it as a foul smell, "chemical-like" and choking. Some also reported hazy conditions in the area.

This later appeared to spread to areas in the west, including Holland and Commonwealth.

When Channel NewsAsia arrived at Commonwealth MRT station at about 9pm, the burning smell in the air was strong. Some residents said they could not breathe normally.

Ms Alicia Zee, 44, who was returning to her home in Commonwealth, said she noticed the smell at about 7pm while she was at Holland Village.

"People were talking about it. It's making it quite hard to breathe," she said.

Another resident thought that it was the haze, but according to the NEA website, air quality was normal as at 9pm.

Sengkang resident Muhammad Zulkefly, 29, said the smell in his area started around 5pm. "It smelt like petroleum, and that was disturbing. I had trouble breathing," he said.

Another resident in Sengkang West, Ms Linda Lian, said it smelled like "burnt rubber or some unknown chemical".

In Hougang, Facebook user Maria Sariff said the smell was "very strong" and was "like plastic burning".

In the evening, residents in Serangoon and Ang Mo Kio started complaining of a strong smell as well.

A resident in Serangoon who only wanted to be identified as Mrs Ho said: "We were having dinner when the smell came very quickly at about 7.40pm. It was very strong. We had to close all the windows immediately." She added that the smell was gone by about 8.20pm.

Ang Mo Kio resident Ms Chan Yoke Yee said she noticed the smell at about 7pm as she was coming out from the MRT station.

"It's giving me a headache," she told Channel NewsAsia. Like residents in Serangoon, she said that the smell was almost gone by about 8.20pm.

Residents in the west started noticing the smell later in the evening. Ms Michelle Tng Ying, who lives in the Holland area, said she noticed a strange smell at about 8pm.

"I thought it was something burning in my own house as I had my oven turned on, but then when I stepped onto the balcony, the smell got stronger - smelt like really strong paint," the 29-year-old said.

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has assured citizens that there has been no presence of "Toxic Industrial Chemicals in the air" in the North-Eastern part of Singapore, following calls about the smell of gas or burning material there.

Complaints about the odour appeared on the online forums such as Reddit and Hardware Zone at about 5pm. Many netizens said that the smell appeared to be largely confined to the North-Eastern parts of Singapore in areas like Sengkang, Hougang, Buangkok and Ang Mo Kio.

SCDF said it has deployed its "resources to investigate" and found nothing amiss, and is closely monitoring the situation together with the National Environment Agency (NEA).

"Our monitoring teams have not detected the presence of Toxic Industrial Chemicals in the air," the SCDF said in a Facebook post at around 10pm.

In a seperate Facebook post at about 10.35pm, the NEA said it deployed its officers to the reported areas to investigate. Air quality levels during the period were found to be well within safety limits.

"Since about 3pm today, winds were light and there was some convergence of winds over the northern half of Singapore, which might have led to an accumulation of smells in the northern area of Singapore," the NEA wrote in its post.

"Winds are expected to turn to blow from the south or southeast later tonight, which will help to disperse any smells in the area. NEA will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Similar complaints have surfaced in the past.

In 2013, there were complaints of a "foul odour" in Punggol and Sengkang. An NEA spokesman then said that the smell could have possibly "emanated from palm oil industries".

NEA however ruled out industries near Punggol as the cause of the smell, after inspections of their equipment, processes, operations and records "did not reveal any abnormalities or issues in their operations" that could be behind the "chemical smell as mentioned in the feedback".

SINGAPORE - Some Sengkang residents have complained of a strong acrid smell and smoke that permeated several areas in Singapore on Monday (Sept 25).

Several readers wrote in to The Straits Times from as early as 4pm on Monday afternoon to say they smelled a "burning", "chemical", or "petrol" smell.

Readers from various areas including Sengkang, Seletar, Yishun, and in other areas like Ang Mo Kio and Bishan, also wrote in to ask about the smell, which one described as "choking".

The National Environment Agency said in a statement on its Facebook page at 10.34pm that they received feedback from the public about a gas smell in Sengkang and Punggol around 5pm.

"NEA officers were deployed to those areas immediately to investigate the smell feedback," it said. "Air quality levels during the period were found to be well within safety limits."

NEA added that winds converged over the northern half of Singapore from about 3pm, which may have led to smells accumulating in the northern area of Singapore.

"Winds are expected to turn to blow from the south or southeast later tonight, which will help to disperse any smells in the area," said NEA.

It added that it will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The Straits Times understands that the fumes are believed to be from Johor.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said in a Facebook post at 7.42pm that it has been receiving calls on the smell of gas or burning in the north-eastern part of Singapore.

"SCDF deployed its resources to investigate. There has been no confirmed incident," it said, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation along with NEA.

It added at 9.55pm that its monitoring teams have not detected the presence of toxic industrial chemicals in the air.

About 20 calls had been made to the Singapore Civil Defence Force since late afternoon, ST understands.

Ms Tina Lim, 49, who works in a bank, said there was a "very strong burnt smell" in the air when she reached her home in Sengkang at about 5.30pm. "It didn't smell like haze. It's like something is burning."

The smell could be detected even in Ang Mo Kio. Ms Vivian Tan, a 35-year-old administration executive, told ST that she smelled a "weird smell" like diesel at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 since 6.40pm.

recent comments

past daily news

news categories

news articles are reproduced
for non-profit educational purposes
In the end, we conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught - Baba Dioum